Buffalo Bushido

Every time I think the low budget independent drama is dead, I stumble across a little gem of a film that changes my mind and gives me hope. "Buffalo Bushido" is just that. Quirky yet specific. Honest yet surreal. Myopic yet projecting in its meaning. Through nuance, familiarity and performance, McGennis taps into his hometown with acute specificity and keeps you hanging on until the end. His use of layering is absolutely brilliant and shows a degree of thought and level of depth missing in Hollywood today. McGennis and Leila Arcieri deliver some very powerful moments as they slowly break down in their struggle to connect. All of the cast deliver fresh, surprising performances and McGennis especially shows skill linking certain characters to his own. "Buffalo Bushido" is a thinking person's film that takes its time to develop and take hold. It's oddities make it very hard to forget and suggest that we are witnessing an emerging new talent with creative vision and the unique ability to pull off all four major capacities (writing, directing, producing and acting) with voice and style. Like most unheralded early works, "Buffalo Bushido" will likely fly under the radar screen and be most appreciated down the road until McGennis achieves greater commercial success. Check it out. "Buffalo Bushido" is a tremendous accomplishment especially for anyone who dreams about making a film or who knows of everything that goes into making a real independent feature film.

When will I ever learn. I need to pay a bit more attention to the film credits before purchasing films in the future. Had I done so I would have realized that Buffalo Bushido was written, directed and starring Peter McGennis who plays a troubled and disillusioned drug addict with his character named simply enough as Davis. Actor Peter McGennis "who" you ask? Exactly! This film dragged on from the on start and never achieved any level of entertainment value throughout. I actually read the film summary which sounded quite interesting and it also included some good actors such as Jesse L Martin as Shawn known mainly for the TV series Law and Order as one of the series lead detectives. It also includes the hard working John Savage as Detective Vendetti who has appeared in close to 200 films throughout his career, and the attractive Leila Arcieri as the stars love interest named Sadie Miller.

The premise of the film has Davis returning to Buffalo after being estranged from his family and friends for over the past decade. Slowly the writer/director and film star Peter McGennis inserts childhood flashbacks with his close friends Shawn and Sadie all the while Detective Vendetti is travelling from New York City to Buffalo to speak to the recently released prisoner Davis. The audience apparently is supposed to be captured with intrigue by all the characters past relationships but all I could keep thinking was "lets' get this movie going buddy because I want it to end sooner rather than later." I assume Mr. McGennis spent a considerable amount of the films budget to retain some credible actors and as a result the films budget left little capital which results in a lack of quality story line and cinematography as evident in the films content. The difficulty of a film star producing, writing and directing their body of work leaves all the risk square on the investors shoulders and if I see Peter McGennis's name attached with so many credits in the future I will be more cautious with my movie dollars expended.

I rate the film a 3 out of 10 and I think I am being generous.

Incredibly done. Impactful, memorable, interesting. Fantastic cast. Intelligent writing. Clever editing. Clear creative vision. Big aura/presence; this imagined world and its players breathe life into the page. The story feels bigger than the screen, larger than life and yet so grounded. A great example of art that becomes "greater than the sum of its parts". Magic. For an indie feature, I'm impressed on all counts.

Peter McGennis is one of the greats, creatively speaking. The only reason you don't know his name is because he has little to no interest in exposure, distribution, fame or fortune. He makes art from the bottom of his heart, and cares only for the process. To see other reviews label this a 'vanity project' is laughable.

Buffalo Bushido takes the viewer on an emotional and heartfelt journey. The main character is flawed, but we root for him anyway, even as other characters (quite reasonably) warn the love interest (played beautifully by Leila Arcieri) that Davis is no good for her.

In fact, every member of the cast does great justice to their role. For an indie film, the acting is spectacular. Grounded and authentic. Poo-poo on you if you think the pacing is too slow. This film is driven by dialogue and human relationships. It is a beautiful examination of what it means to be alive.

I was seriously invested, and this film is bound to stay with me for years to come. The emotional journey is captivating, with Davis' past revealed through a series of (cleverly edited) memories and flashbacks, and with a bittersweet ending that feels, somehow, correct and necessary. Despite (or perhaps because of) the tears, I am so grateful for the emotional journey that this film took me on. Highly recommend.